Boris Johnson has appointed Edi Truell as his advisor on pensions and investments, as he uses his last years as mayor to drive forward public pension collaboration on spending and deal-making.
Truell is the founder of Pension Insurance Corporation, which has become one of the leading players in the UK’s de-risking and buyout market. Truell, alongside his brother Wellcome Trust CIO Danny, has a long track record in private equity and venture capital and until recently was also chairman of the capital’s largest public pension, the London Pension Funds Authority (LPFA).
“We could have a war chest worth hundreds of billions of pounds and access to the kind of investment opportunities which have until now been the preserve of foreign sovereign wealth funds.” —Boris JohnsonIn this new, unpaid role, he will advise the mayor on investments that would advance the cause of pension consolidation across the Local Government Pension Scheme and public sector pension funds more generally—a project he spearheaded at the LPFA through its tie up with the Lancashire Pension Fund.
“Edi’s leadership of the LPFA has been a great success and the work that he has done so far to consolidate our funds with our Lancashire counterparts is a triumph of service to public finance,” said Johnson. “If we now use this new partnership as a blueprint for further pooling of pension funds, we could have a war chest worth hundreds of billions of pounds and access to the kind of investment opportunities which have until now been the preserve of foreign sovereign wealth funds.”
Johnson said that amalgamating some of the country’s numerous public-sector pension funds and creating a citizens’ wealth fund would save billions of pounds through greater efficiencies, lower fees, and improved returns. These funds could then be invested in homes, roads, railways, power stations and airports—and help cover the cost of the UK’s ageing population.
Truell said he would be chairing an “ambitious and specialised advisory board” for the newly-created Lancashire and London Pensions Partnership (LLPP), which would comprise world-class investment and risk management professionals.
“Once established, the strategic investment advisory board will extend its offer of advice to any public sector funds wishing to join in with the LLPP,” said Truell. “This will make available an unprecedented level of asset and liability management sophistication and expertise to a large number of pension funds, helping them to navigate a safe course through turbulent world markets.”
Truell will start working on the formation of the advisory board immediately in time for the LLPP commencing operations in April 2016, the mayor’s office said.
Johnson will stand down as mayor in 2016 and assume a full time role as Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the seat he won at this year’s UK general election.